New Concept English there （4）

20w/m

These days, people who do manual work often receive far more money than people who work in
offices. People who work in offices are frequently referred to as „white-collar workers' for

the simple reason that they usually wear a collar and tie to go to work. Such is human nature,

that a great many people are often willing to sacrifice higher pay for the privilege of

becoming white-collar workers. This can give rise to curious situations, as it did in the case

of Alfred Bloggs who worked as a dustman for the Ellesmere Corporation. When he got married,

Alf was too embarrassed to say anything to his wife about his job. He simply told her that he

worked for the Corporation. Every morning, he left home dressed in a smart black suit. He then

changed into overalls and spent the next eight hours as a dustman. Before returning home at

night, he took a shower and changed back into his suit. Alf did this for over two years and his

fellow dustmen kept his secret. AlF's wife has never discovered that she married a dustman and

she never will, for Alf has just found another job. He will soon be working in an office. He

will be earning only half as much as he used to, but he feels that his rise in status is well

worth the loss of money. From now on, he will wear a suit all day and others will call him 'Mr.

Bloggs', not 'Alf'.